Golf bag support



NOV. 15, 1932. w, H, GUNTHER 1,887,838

GOLF BAG SUPPORT Filed May 13. 1930 2'/ INVENTOR: W/L L /HM /z//v rma-R.

f ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 1K5, 1932 wILLIAnH. vaniram-in,or SAN rRANCisc'o, canrrorufnn Application filed Mayk 13,

My invention relates to anew and useful golf-bag support which is particularly adapted for use on the links to maintainl the y bag in substantiallyA upright Yposition while .the golfer is making each shot, and thereby to facilitate the exchange and replacement of, and the general access to the clubs conl tained in the bag.l p

it has been the practice heretofore, in the absence of av caddy, to throw or lay the-bag down on. the ground prior to making a shot,

and when it was desired to exchange or replace a club, it was necessary to stoop or bend down torpick up the bag and holdit up 15 4whilethe exchange wasbeing effected.`V

To obviate these disadvantages, I have deviseda novel golf-bag supportwhich will maintain the golf-bag in an upright position while the golfer.v is playing, and one which will automatically fold up against or parallel to the bag while the latter is being transported over the course after each slot. v

My invention further relates to a novel support of this character, which functions 5 practicably and effectively without regard to the, surface or topography of the turf on which the bag is supported.

My invention further relates to a novel golf-bag support which is of. an'extremely 0 simple, durable and inexpensive construction,

and which requires no skill or eifort in its manipulation. A

. My` invention further relates to a novel support which may be, detachably or permanently attached to a golf-bag, and which can be manufactured and sold independently of the golf-bag proper. y

To the aboveends, my invention consists of an inner plate secured to the inner up- .per edge of aYgolf-bag; anl outer plate secured to said inner plate on the outer upper edge ofsaid bag upper diverging U-shaped or forked members carried by the upper edge forked members; springs for tensioning said legs; and a sliding lever engaging said legs and adapted to serve as a latch for engaging the keeper on the bottom end of said outer 1930. s eriai No. 451,943?.

plate to locksaid legs in their inoperative, .folded position. Y

My inventi n further consists of means for limitingy or predetermining the range of ,movement V'of said legs with respect itO the 55 Y golf-bag.

For the purpose illustrating my inveni i tion I havev shown in the accompanying drawing one `form thereofwhich is at present preferredy by me, since the same'has been-60 found in practice to givesatisfactory andreliable results, although it is kto be understood that the various instrumentalities of which 1ny`invention-`consists can bev variously arranged and organizedV and lthat-my invention 65,

is not limited to the precise arrangement and yorganization' of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

In the accompanying drawing: f

F ig. 1 is a side elevational view of* a 70 golf-bag support lembodying `my invention shown inactual' use; y p

Fig.' 2 represents,'on an enlarged scale, a

Afront 'elevation ofthe upper portion ofa Vg'folf-bag provided with a novel `support em- 75 vbodying my invention;

Y Fig. Sis asectional View: taken Online l3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 vis a sec-tional view taken on line 4-4,-Fig.2; l," y Y S0 Fig. 5 vis a planvview of the inner supporting plate forming part ofmy invention;

`Fig-6 is a plan view of the combinedV operating lever and latch formngzpart of my invention; f

' F 7 is a modiied form'of my combined ylever and latch constructionshown in Fig.6;

and

Fig. 8is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of a blank from 4which the upper sleeves carrying the legs supporting the golf bag maybe formed. Y p

Referring to the drawing, inl which similar numerals lof reference indicate corresponding parts, 1 designatesa golf-bag of my icon- 95 ventional construction, to the upper outer endV of which is secured the outersupportin'g "plate 2 by means of thev screws or bolts 3 vwhich pass through the wall of the bag and Y through an innersupporting plate "i, .the-

Afrom the scope'of my invention.

inner ends of said bolts or screws being retained by suitable nuts 5, it being understood that the manner of securing the supporting plate 2 to the upper portion of the golf-bag 1 may be variedwithout departing The supporting plate2 is provided with the upper U-shaped lugs or forked members 5w which diverge slightly, as will be seen from Fig. 2, and which serveas pivot points for the legs 6. The legs 6 preferably consist of rods of the desired length and thickness, the upper ends of said rods being driven into the sleeves or tubular members 7 which are provided with the upper forked portions8 which lit Within the U-shaped lugs 5m on the upper edge of the supporting plate 2. The forked ends 8 of the sleeves 7 which carry the legs 6 are pivoted to the U-shaped lugs 5m by means of the bolts or pins 9 to permit of a swinging movement of the legs 6 with respect to the golfbag 1. 'The legs 6 are-held in a normal, folded, inoperative position with respect to the golf-bag 1 by means of springs 10 which are anchored toiiXed points 11 at thebottom of the U-shaped lugs 5m and to fixed points 12 in the inner lower portions of the sleeves 7. The action Vof these springs is to maintain the legs 6 in the folded position seen in Figs. 8 and 4. In the lower innerv portions `of the sleeves 7 I provide the slots or openings 13 through which extends an arcuate lever or member 14 which is provided with an upwardly and outwardly eX- tending handle 15.. The arcuate member 14 is provided with the end llugs 16 which form stops for limiting the range of movement of ythe legs 6 in the manner hereinafter described. 'The bottom ofthe arcuate member 14 serves as a latch to engage the keeper 17 at the bottomedge of the supporting member 2 to'loc'k the legs 6 in their folded, inoperative position. y The operation is as follows: v

Y When it is desired to support a vgolf-bag equipped with my novel supporting device in lthe position illustrated in Fig. 1, itis merely Y necessary to eXert an upward pull on the Vhandle 15 of the arcuatemember 14. This can be accomplished by merely attempting to lift the bag full of clubs by means of the handle 15, the weight of the clubs serving to eXert the necessary pressure. The upward pressure on the handle 15 releases the 'bottom edge of the arcuate member 14 from vengagement with the keeper 17 on the supporting plate 2 and results in extending the legs 6 vinto al diverging position away from the bag 1 kso that said legs in conjunction with said -bag form a tripod arrangement, as will be understood from Fig. 1. In 'this position the bag is firmly supported yin the 'vertical position, thereby rendering the clubs contained said bag immediately and Vreadily accessible and eliminating the necessity for Vthe ground results in the automatic return fbag support may be built in or attachedfto the n golfbag during the process of manufacturportion of a golf-bag, as may be desired.

bythe length of said legs may be adjustedv the aid or service of a caddy. To prevent the undue distention or spacing of the legs 6 by the exertion of undue upward pull or pressure on the handle 15 I provide the lugs l 16 which serve as stops so that the maximum 3 distance to which the legs 6 can be spread or distended away from the bag 1 is limited or predetermined by the length of the arcuate member 14 or the total distance between the lugs 16. When the bag is raised off the 75 ground from thepos'ition shown in Fig. 1 Y the springs 10 serve to return the legs 6 into their folded position in proximity and parallel to the bag 1,/see Figs. 3 and 4, and the bottom edge of the arcuate member 14 rides 80 on the outer inclined surface vof the keeper 17 and automatically engages said keeper in the manner shown in Fig. 3 to lock the legs 6 in their folded, inoperative position, thereby reg lieving the strain on vthe springs 10 and pre- `85 venting any accidental, undesired movement or displacement of the legs `6.l In order to permit the engagement anddisengagement of the arcuate member 14 with kthe keeper 17 ,the apertures or 'slots 1.3 in the inner vlower portions of the sleeve 7 are made large enough to afford the necessary play. yThe forked ends 8 of the sleeves 7 are cut awayy at 18 for the purposejof `permitting' a limited Aswinging l. movement of the legs 6 carried by the "95 sleeves 7.

It will thus `be seen that I havedevised a novel golf-bag support which is automatic in its operation, said support being brought i.- into operative or I.effective position by merely 'l raising the golf-'bag by means of the handle 15 which results' in spreading the legs 6 into diverging positions with respect to the bag. On the other hand, the lifting of the bag offo of the legs 6 into a 'folded position through the agency ofthe springs 10, said legs being then locked into the inoperative folded 4position by engagement of the arcuate member 14GIA with the keeper 17 on the bottom of theuuo supporting plate 2. v

The present invention is anl improvement upon the construction covered by my previous Patent No. 1,7 38,242, dated Decem-i ber 3, 1929, the structure disclosed in the presentv application differing from the structure of my prior patent Iin various respects,

Aall as herein above pointed out.

It is furtherV apparent that .my novel golf-1,`

ing, or my novel support canV be lsold as a separate, independent unit which can y be easily and quickly installed upon the upper-.gA

If desired I may `provide the sleeve 7 with the set screws 20 which engage the rods forming the legs 6 ofmy 'novel'bag support, wherewith reference to the size ofthe bag 1 or with i reference to the topography of the golf links or particular inclination at which it may be desir-ed to set the golf-bag.

In Fig. 7 ,I have shown a modified form of the combined sliding lever and latch 14; wherein I provide notches or recesses 19 for the purpose of engaging the bottom portions 21 of the brackets which form the apertures 13, thereby locking the legs 6 in their inoperative folded position. lf this construction is used the keeper 17 formed on the bottom end of the supportingv plate 2 may be dispensed with. While the details of mechanical construction shown inV Fig. 7 differ slightly from the showing of Fig. 2, itwill ofcourse be understood that the purpose or Vfunction in both instances is kthe same.

The sleeves may, if desired, be formed by bending or deflecting the lower portion of the blank 22, shown in Fig. 8, into a tubular form, said blank being provided with slots 13 for receiving the combined latch and lever lll and with the holes 23 which receive fastening devices for retaining the blank 22 in the desired tubular shape. This method of making the sleeves 7 is less expensive than casting and produces a lighter construction withengage said legs for limiting the movement of said legs with respect to said ba and means on the upper end of said bag a apted Y the upper, inner portions of said legs, an

operatinglever engaged in said slots and adapted to slide uponthe inner, upper portions of said legs to diverge the latter into a tripod position with respect to said bag against the tension of said springs, a keeper on said bag positioned below said slots and adapted to engage said lever to insure positive locking of said legs in their inoperative posi` tion, and lugs on the ends of said lever adaptsoV ed to engage said legs to limit their movement with respect to said bag.

WILLIAM GNTHER.

out detracting from its efficiencyor appear- U-shaped lugs 5m, in a manner similar to that shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention. Y

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character stated, a

plurality of legs adapted to be hinged to a` golf-bag, springs bearing on the upper portions of said legs, a lever engaging to and sliding upon the upper, inner portions of said' legs and adapted, whenpulled, to diverge said legs into operative position with respect .top

said bag, and means carried by the upper portion of said bag and adapted to engage said sliding lever to lock said legs in inoperative position with respectto said bag.

2. In a device of the characterstated, a plurality of legs adapted to be hinged to the upper portion of a golf-bag, springs bearing on the upper portions of said legs normally to retain said legs in inoperative, folded condition with respect to said bag, a lever engaging and sliding upon the upper portions of and adapted to diverge said legs into spaced,

operative positions ,with respect to said bag,`

means on the ends of'said lever adapted to 

